PUTRAJAYA: Fake news on Covid-19, on both the social media and messaging apps, remained rampant despite threat of legal action and repeated reminders.
Senior Minister (Security Cluster) Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said as of yesterday (May 8), police and the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) had opened 262 investigation papers.
Of the total, he said 179 cases were still under investigation, 29 cases had been brought to court, 11 were issued with warning notices, and 18 of the accused had pleaded guilty.
He said through the MCMC's Quick Response Team (PRP), 265 denials and clarifications of fake news have been made public to date.
PRP was set up to monitor suspicious news and allegations to help curb the spread of fake news related to Covid-19.
Ismail urged the public to always verify the authenticity of any information they received or refrain from sharing them to avoid confusion or panic among the people.
"For instance, yesterday there was news that I supposedly had an exclusive interview with TV3. This was false and I had to issue a statement to clarify.
"The public can contact PRP 03-8911 5103 or visit www.Sebenarnya.my to check the authenticity of a news piece before sharing," he added.